A New Reality
by PierceTheVeils
Summary: One's a spoiled princess, isolated and lonely. One's delusional, trapped in her own head. One's a genius, serially underestimated. One's an agent, sent to survey a planet she doesn't understand. And the last girl never even meant to stay long at Alfea. None of them expected to become roommates and friends, or to save the galaxy
1. Chapter 1: Stella and Bloom

** Chapter One**

The Prolix Initiative:

Five thousand years ago, at the dawn of the second Great Age, the Council of Realms united the most powerful planets of the Magic Dimension, with the goal of promoting peace and civil discourse among all the realms as the planets grew interconnected.

The first item on the Council's agenda was finding a means of universal communication: poor translation was among the factors behind the first Interrealm War. Three hundred of the best spellcrafters and runists of the Council Realms were recruited for the job, headquartered in the Royal University on the realm of Prolix, which still exists today. It took them –and later, their descendants– seventy-nine years to work out a basic translation spell between the languages of the six members of the Council at the fifty most powerful mages of the Dimension were transported to the capital of Prolix for the actual implementation of the spell, which required twenty hours of chanting without rest, a feat that went unmatched for millennia and caused five to die _from_ magical exhaustion.

The spell extended over six planets, their moons and all of their territory at the time, and has been expanded constantly since then. As of the publishing of this article, the translation spell encompasses almost the entire universe, even forgotten, uncolonized, and minor realms, bridging the gap between the written and spoken languages of different realms and species. Those excluded include Old Whisperian, Veccan Dragon, Mermish, Spherian, and any languages that had died out at the time of casting, such as Vishnian.

The spell itself was designed in a new language created for the purpose of casting the spell, which was itself imbued with magic by the mages involved. The language, Runic, has since become the most widely used and taught casting language in the Magic Dimension, and is a requisite course at the famous Alfea College for Fairies as well as many other highly-rated magical schools in the dimension. It is now considered one of the greatest feats of magic of all time for its durability and sheer area of effect.

-Elluvia Velaqua _The Realm-Wide Encylcopedia of the Magic Dimension_

Stella of Solaria stood at the door to the Tea Room, listening to her parents argue, and wishing more than anything that being the heir allowed her to compel people against their will.

She had spent most of this morning relatively at peace with the world: she'd spent it packing her new back-to-school wardrobe with Nova. Then, Nova had ditched her (_don't think about it) _and her father had summoned her to the sacred Tea Room. And not for tea, as it turned out.

Her mother had been there, which was the major sign that something was wrong. Stella's parents hadn't spoken for months. They'd talked at length about some nobles trying to steal the throne, and they'd said that Stella needed to bind herself magically to the Solaria ring for their line to even stand a chance. Even though it was illegal for minors to participate in blood rituals on Solaria.

But that was the way things went. You might start out the day okay, but then your best friend would leave, your separated parents would rope you into a blood ritual disguised as an invitation to tea, and then you'd get your palm slashed by a mad priestess. The words of the Sun Priestess still rang in her head:

_"Binding you to the Ring will increase your power threefold. It will allow you to transport yourself to anywhere you have seen, even in an image reproduction: anywhere that the light of your eyes has touched. You will become sunlight itself: you will travel faster than light, disregarding the physical rules of matter transfer. But this power comes with a price. _

_With the ring, you will be fire itself, but without, you will be nearly powerless. This effect can only be overcome by a cataclysmic event; becoming an Enchantix fairy, or changing your alignment. Changing from fairy to witch, for example." _

Stella had still chosen to do it. A cut across her palm was a small price to pay to have her parents working on the same side again, she'd thought at the time.

_Except, well, _she thought, watching them from the doorway, _my parents' aren't able to get along, no matter how bad than the problems of the realm are. _

"Stop trying to make me the aggressor here! I wasn't the one who had the insane idea to try breaking the law! I didn't send my spies into my husband's court! I didn't force Stella into agreeing to magical laws that she clearly doesn't understand!" That was her father's voice, sounding harsher than she'd ever heard it before.

"I didn't force her," replied Luna bitterly. "Your notions of free will and 'Enlightenment' principles are going to get us murdered in our beds! What's the use of realm-wide civil protection if Stella'sdead?"

"You dare–"

The Queen let out a caustic laugh. "I wasn't the one who created a Parliament and put limits on our power. You've tied our hands with this "limited monarchy" business. It was the best alternative. Binding Stella to the Ring will force the nobles to consider us. They will think twice before sending their assassins. We will be a force to be reckoned with. _I_ was the one who created that option, so yes, I dare."

"You speak of 'we' and 'us', as if this home, this kingdom is still yours?" came Radius's voice, almost unrecognizably cold. "I wasn't the one who abandoned their family. You shouldn't have bothered coming back."

_Oh...no. _

Stella realized just after she did it that she had let out an audible gasp. She jerked back from the door-frame with her hand over her mouth.

"I-" said Luna, then cut off her sentence before she could finish it. "There's someone here." Stella backed away from the door, feeling as though someone had punched her in the stomach. "Stella? Darling?"

Her mother was going after her, but Stella didn't want to see her anymore. She wanted her parents to stop arguing. She wanted to not exist. She wanted the ground to just... swallow her up.

Stella's hands were clenched into fists, tight enough to hurt. She managed to open her hand and activate the power of her Ring. She'd never done this before, but anything was better than remaining here.

"Solaria!" she said, because it felt right. She threw the Ring up in the air and it grew to its scepter form. She caught it and thought of Callisto, and a certain fairy called Varanda who had sent her a message. She shut her eyes and her body tingled. She heard footsteps coming down the hall toward her, but she'd already left in a flash of light.

She was glad that she was gone before the tears came.

* * *

Stella was light years away from Solaria, traveling in and out of space like a needle through fabric. She wasn't manifesting fully, so much as bouncing on top of the Real: like a stone skipping the surface of a lake. She felt light, happy, free enough to forget about her parents.

And then it all went wrong. The light began to bend around her. Wind came from behind withalarming force, forcing her breath out of her lungs. Something hot hit her in the shoulder. She felt the portal swerve, like a change in current.

Her scream caught at the back of her throat. She caught a glimpse of a darkly beautiful figure, and then she was out of reality again, coasting through an iridescent tunnel created by her Ring's warp drive.

"What–"

She tumbled for a moment, her flight pattern becoming less graceful, and then she snapped back to reality.

She got there just in time to see the figure crumple, crushed by the pressure of space, and then dissipate into a purple fog. By the light of a nearby star, Stella could see where the creature's spell had caught her. Her shoulder was cut, leaking tiny droplets of blood that floated out into the endless space. The edges of the wound were purple.

She snapped back to the tunnel. She thought, somehow, that it had to do with her emotional state. She had to calm down, except she didn't know how. She knew that if she lost control entirely, she would manifest fully and die in space, her bones broken, her lungs crushed. Her body would float, never decaying, forever. She shuddered.

She reappeared in reality. She was caught in the gravity of the planet now, falling more than flying. She tumbled past asteroids and populated moons toward the large planet that stretched below her. She wasn't bouncing anymore. She was locked in a freefall, stuck in reality. She closed her eyes. A sense of peace pervaded her entire being.

She fell, headfirst, toward the royal palace of Callisto.

Stella entered Callisto royal airspace as a flaming meteor, trailing a tail of fire that threatened to scorch the royal lawn. King Telmar of House Rykiel, ruler of Callisto, stared out of the window and wrung his hands, wishing that he had bought a proper air force instead of a marble boat. His wife, Thalassa, stood by the door of the palace and conjured a gigantic net, which she ordered the butlers to carry out onto the lawn. They were understandably reluctant.

The meteor flamed inevitably toward the lawn, causing everyone to close their eyes. It would cause a gigantic scorch mark on the grass, if it wasn't cursed to set the entire planet ablaze.

And then it disappeared, about fifteen meters above the ground.

A girl appeared in its place. She was tall and blonde, wearing wedges and an orange ensemble, reminiscent of religious garb on Solaria, except for the fact that it showed off most of her stomach. She stumbled over to the Queen, who immediately put a hand over her heart and swooned. Her head hit a pillar, and the queen tried to pretend she'd tripped.

"Hi," said Stella. "I'm Stella, the princess of the realm of Solaria. Varanda called me." She pulled out her phone, showing it to the Queen and the butlers, who had abandoned the giant net and were gathered around her, whispering. "On her crystal ball? And, yeah. I decided to... show... up." She put her hand up to her forehead. "Oh, Dragon," she whispered. _Great job, Stella. This was a wonderful idea. _

The Queen took advantage of the situation and keeled over directly into the circle of butlers.

In a moment, Stella found herself being escorted by the remaining servants down a wide hall made of some kind of shiny stone, and she soon reached the chamber where Varanda was accepting visitors. She supposed that she could count herself lucky that they had gone to cotillion together, or she would have faced execution for what she just did.

"Oh, Stella!" cried her friend as soon as she caught sight of Stella. She was reclined on a purple chaise lounge, wearing a beautiful sheer dress that was wet from tear stains. Her curly brown hair looked wild.

"Hi, sweetie," Stella said as Callisto ran to hug her. They'd become friends somewhere in the middle of attending Princess Cotillion together. Along with another girl, Princess Argas of Prolix, they'd formed an odd trio, bonding over a common hatred of ballroom dancing.

"What's wrong?" said Stella.

"Oh my Dragon, I've been seeing suitors all day and I'm sore all over. I had to pretend to faint toget out of the Courting Chamber; the princes are still waiting out there. You got my message, didn't you?"

"Yeah, of course. I got it on my phone." Stella pulled out the orange flip to show Varanda, who reeled back in shock.

"What is that? Is this some of that cheap Zenith stuff that they use to spy on people?"

Stella resisted the urge to put her hand over her face. That was the thing about Varanda. Once you got to know her, she had absolutely no filter.

"No, it's just a phone. It's like a crystal ball, except it's far more portable and runs off combined magic and technology, so if the spells wear off, there's still a signal."

"What's a signal?"

Stella sighed. "Okay, never mind. What were you going to ask me?" Varanda jumped. "Oh, I forgot. My parents decided to find me a husband early, so I'll be staying home and getting tutors instead of going to Alfea while I prepare to be a wife." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter: I'm no good at magic anyway. And Mommy says that her mages found dark tracking spells around Magix. She says that someone might be spying on the three great schools. Or maybe one of the schools is spying on the others. She tried to tell the three Headmasters, but they didn't listen."

She walked across the room to her dresser, a large, rounded thing made of the fine dark wood that was so common to Callisto. She opened a drawer, and passed her an envelope, embossed with the double-spiral seal of Callisto and her name. The translation spell worked the foreign characters into a language Stella could understand.

"This is my letter to Faragonda," said Varanda. "I need you to give it to her for me." She looked down. "I did want to go to Alfea with you, Stella. It's just that my parents need me more. It's-it's the money, we've spent too much of it on trifles, and I can't…"

"Shhh," said Stella. She pulled the smaller girl into a hug. She didn't want to hear her go on. Her words rung too closely to others she'd heard, from other people she'd lost. She knew they didn't mean it; it's just that everyone seemed to be abandoning Stella today.

She had almost no one now.

"Thank you so much for coming," said Varanda once she gathered herself. "Your friendship means so much to me. I'm so glad that I met you. You were my first friend, even though we only knew each other for a while." Her eyes were burning with a new fire, but her words sounded like goodbye.

"Varanda, don't."

"-I know Callisto is an out-of the way, backwards planet, but we do have some power on the Council of Realms. If you ever need anything, at all, then I'll be there. Though it might be years, I think we'll see each other again." She smiled. "And just think. Next time, we'll both be queens."

"Varanda," said Stella, realizing something. "Where are your glasses?"

"Oh." She smiled vaguely. "I had my eyes fixed, because I need to look pretty before I go into seclusion. I have to look at only beautiful things, even in the mirror, for sixty days before the consummation. It's tradition."

A butler appeared at the door, with a frowning Queen Thalassa following behind. "Princess Varanda is needed in the Royal Courting Chamber. Now."

"And Princess Stella needs to take her leave," the queen added.

"Bye, hon," she said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "You'll be alright."

She wondered if she could make things become true just by wanting them enough. She doubted that could happen, even with magic: her parents' inability to get their act together was evidence of that.

Then she let go of Varanda before the Queen or the butler could say anything, and tossed her Ring into the air, thinking of Alfea. She didn't need to go back to Solaria, especially not anymore.

"Solaria!"

Then she was gone, shooting faster than a comet past asteroids and dying stars. This time, the path was quicker, with her focus driven by anger and frustration. But her thoughts were scattered, disjointed; the warp tunnel flickered every millisecond or so. She was afraid that if she let up the least amount, she would shatter into a million pieces.

After a ridiculously short amount of time, she was careening toward Magix and its forests stretched out below her. She entered its gravity field, flying fast, and flickered into reality.

She never saw where the spells came from.

The blasts hit her in the face, the thigh, and the stomach, and reality broke. She fell up, tumbling in the wrong direction. The Real vanished, replaced by the Ring's warp tunnel, and then she landed in a galaxy she didn't recognize, near a blue-and-green planet that she had only seen in a book on "Forgotten Realms" in history class.

She was caught in its gravitational field, trapped by an unstoppable force, and she fell, faster than sound, into its atmosphere. _To think, today started out so normal.  
_

She landed in a grey field unlike any she'd ever seen before, covered in sharp rocks and bits of debris. Closing the area in was a fence topped with some sort of sharp wire.

A familiar figure was waiting for her. He was wearing his usual purple overalls, and he was surrounded by ghouls. He'd followed her here? When she hadn't even planned on coming_? _

"Can't say I was looking forward to seeing _you_ again," she sneered, eyes on the gap in the fence, and then she ran, flat-out, through it and out, into the alien city.

But she only made it as far as the park.

* * *

A red-headed girl stalked through an alley with her bicycle, ducking back inside when she saw her ex-boyfriend walking down the street. She didn't want Andy to see her as she was.

Her hair was mussed, her expression blank. If anyone had been there to talk to her, they would wonder if she was actually listening; or indeed, if she knew that they were there. In the basket of her bike, a blue-and-white rabbit blinked up at her, eyes filled with a worry that was almost human.

"Flight," she whispered. The word had two meanings, two things she wanted to do. Being here was better than going back. She'd done things she couldn't explain. She suspected she'd done other things too, but she couldn't remember.

"-hot blonde," Bloom heard Mark say, waving his hands as if tracing a woman's curves, while Andy and Ryo nodded, and then they walked too far away for her to hear any more.

She felt a strange sense of loss. Everyone had abandoned her; her friends, her boyfriend, her adopted parents. Her friends had tried, at first, to keep in touch, but they'd stopped coming over eventually. That was exactly why she left her phone at home.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," she said to Kiko. She hoped he understood that this was an apology. She climbed onto her bike and rode down the street toward Gardenia Park. Something told her that was where she needed to be.

* * *

Stella had expected to transform, to feel the power of all the generations of Solarian rulers, and to feel it binding with hers, magnifying it threefold. She'd known, in the corner of her mind, that fighting the ghouls and the troll all at once would be the hardest thing that she had ever done.

She'd tried not to think of it, as she was running terrified down alien streets, past people who didn't seem to notice the ogre trailing behind her.

And she had transformed. The power was greater than anything she'd ever felt before. The Sun Priestess was right; she wasn't on fire. She _was_ fire.

So, understandably, she was surprised to be losing three minutes into the bout. It happened quickly. She was holding her her own, casting spells that made her freshman incantations look like sparklers, when the ogre stepped out of the shadows and charged. She'd tensed, ready to jump upward, but his fist flew out unexpectedly and sent her flying.

She hit the ground hard, seeing sparks behind her eyelids, and then she was covered in the sharp hands of ghouls, being held down, unable to even scream. She tried to hold on as her scepter was wrenched from her.

Her power narrowed as if it was a thread tied to the scepter, threatening to snap. She was feeling her magic getting ripped away from her. _So this is what the Priestess meant. _

And then…

A female voice spoke in the alien language of this place. Her words resolved themselves quickly into ones that Stella could understand, even though she couldn't comprehend at all why she was saying them– _go away, you idiot! _she thought.

"Leave her alone," said the unfamiliar voice, "or I'll...call the police." And then reality broke, again, when the girl, instead of dying, cast several spells that sent first the ghouls, then the ogre, flying like bowling pins. Stella reclaimed her scepter and finished off the battle, without even calling her attack.

That left just them, standing in the clearing, staring at each other. Stella sized up her rescuer.

She was tall, almost Stella's height, with long red hair and skin pale enough to show the blue veins under her eyes. She was a bit too lean but looked lucid, more like a chronic under-eater than a drug addict. She'd be considered interesting, but not pretty back on Solaria.

She was blinking in the light, as if she hadn't been outside for a long time. She was wearing a blue top that reached just past her navel and light blue pants embroidered with stars.

"You've got magic powers," said Stella. "An NMB with magic powers. That's new."

The girl was staring at her hands. "Yeah, well, lots of interesting things are happening today," she said, slightly dry in tone. Then she looked up at Stella. An oddly hungry expression came over her face, making her look even more like she needed a snack.

"Hey, are you a fairy princess?"

"Such a weird day," said Stella. She was beginning to get a head rush. _I could actually faint right now,_ she mused.

Then she swayed and fell to the ground, making sure it was her best Queen Thalassa imitation.

* * *

The redhead watched as the girl's clothing changed to an orange skirt-and-top combination and wedge heels, and attached wings that mimicked her real-life ones. "Flight," she said again. It would have to wait, because she'd just gotten an idea.

Behind her, Kiko put his paw to his forehead in hopeless exasperation. Bloom loaded the girl onto the seat of her bike, propped her feet up on the crossbars, and wheeled her home, sticking to the shadows of the darkest alleys, all the way up to the garage door of her house. Her parents were waiting in the living room when she got back, sporting worried expressions and asking too many questions, until she finally told them that the girl was her second cousin, visiting from far away, and she needed to sleep off her jet lag on the couch.

"Don't ever worry us like that again," said Vanessa when the fairy was safely tucked in. There was a scared look on her face as she wrapped Bloom up in her arms, pulling her close. Bloom's father hung back at the door to the garage, looking uncharacteristically skittish.

"You know, sweetie, that road trip you mentioned could work out after all. Maybe you could go to La Jolla like you said."

Bloom looked at her quizzically. She remembered talking about a road trip, but nothing else. "Mom, when have I ever said anything about La Jolla?" She laughed lightly. "Anyway, all that's going to change. I have a feeling that this is the start of something great."

She walked breezily up the stairs to her room, leaving her mom where she was.

She had to clear away three layers of taped-up drawings to reach her mirror, but when she did, she smiled at what she saw. She didn't remember putting this outfit together, but it was a good choice. It worked with the image she was creating in her mind. It made her look younger than she really was.

She smiled innocently at her reflection, pitching her voice a bit higher than normal.

"Hi, I'm Bloom!" she said.

She spent the rest of the morning cleaning out every single drawing in her room, opening the window to air things out, and packing away all her fairy books. She didn't want the fairy to think she was a geek.

When she was done, she lay down on her bed and slept, feeling lucid for the first time in ages.

And when Bloom woke, she felt ready to meet her destiny.

* * *

When Stella woke up, it was already dark, and several things had changed. Most obviously, she no longer was injured. The magic of the Ring had been working under her skin to heal her wounds, knitting the skin back together until all that remained were a few marks. The red-head showed signs of healing as well. She looked well-rested and more put together already. But there was something different about her. It was in her voice, in the way she carried herself.

Her voice seemed higher, somehow, almost piping. There was a ringing cheer in everything she said, and it never. Went. Away.

"Hi, I'm Bloom," she said, and kept smiling even while speaking. "Who are you?"

Stella stared at her a minute. _What is she so happy about? _ "Princess Stella," she said. "Of Solaria."

"Where's that?"

"Right along the inner ring of-" Stella paused, noticing that Bloom was confused. "Far away. Another dimension."

They'd talked more. Stella had the pleasure of explaining everything from her ring to the Alfea school to three NMBs with no conception of how magic worked. It was frustrating work: Bloom got more excited with every word, while her parents threatened to call the police until she was finally forced to turn their phone into a cabbage.

It was only then she even noticed the bunny. There was something uncanny about the way that it was looking at her...

"Hey, come see my room!" squealed Bloom, dragging Stella by her arm, up to a clean, small bedroom done up in pink and yellow, and the rabbit was pushed out of Stella's mind.

It was only then that Stella remembered. "Wait, I saw you doing magic too! Last night!" Did that mean-

"Oh yeah, I did it again," Bloom paused for a second, then began to chatter away. Stella hadn't followed her story completely, but apparently Bloom had found her powers when a fire started in her school. Stella couldn't help but feel the girl had exaggerated, but congratulated her anyway.

_Well, if she's a fairy, why is she here? _Stella wondered. _Earth doesn't have magic. Where would she learn to control it? _

Then it hit her. She wouldn't have to play delivery service for Varanda after all!

Stella didn't trust herself with the ring anymore, so she'd need to get a ride somehow. Besides, she still had to convince Bloom to come with her. _Why not do both things with one call? _

The Earth girl's giddy mood persisted, and Stella began to seriously wonder what Earth water had in it. Even when the ogre visited her _again_, this time with a blue buddy, she was the only one in the family not to freak out. Maybe she didn't think it was real.

Even when the heroes came and took the troll away, Bloom didn't even flirt as literally magical boys saved their lives. Stella couldn't put it together.

From what she could see, Bloom was the kind of person who had no secrets and no problems, Stella thought, who had a heart filled only with innocence. That dry-humored girl from the park was completely gone. Stella began to wonder if she'd imagined her. But even Bloom had a high-pitched voice, and a self-righteous tone, she was still a fairy, and Stella owed her one.

Maybe, just maybe, she could become a friend.

* * *

**A/Ns:**

**PTV:**

**Yay, we (TDUAK and I) finally posted the first chapter! Right when we said we would! We've only been planning this since December, but I think it was worth it.**

** Like my co, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter, and I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say about it. As always, feel free to leave any comments you might have in a review, and questions work better as PMs. Thank you so much, and I'll see you on the far side!**

**TDUAK:**

** Welcome to our Season One rewrite! **

** This is a collaborative work of PierceTheVeils and me, To die upon a kiss. We hope you enjoyed the chapter! **  
** Please send any questions to us through PM. This story is also available on AO3, under the names Probity_Probe and PierceTheVeils.  
**

** I consider this a sequel to Sneaking Out. You can find the fic at the profile To die upon a kiss.**

** Thanks,**  
** TDUAK**


	2. Chapter 2: Flora

**Chapter Two**

The Alfea Code of Behavior (Abridged)

Last updated by Deputy Headmistress Griselda Fordollo

1. You must follow all of the rules in the Code of Behavior.

2. There will be absolutely no unsupervised use of magic in the corridors, empty classrooms, _or _Potions laboratories.

3. Stay away from the Witches of Cloud Tower. This particular rule lacks a punishment, since the ones that the witches inflict will almost certainly be worse.

4. Curfew is at 28 o'clock (which is four hours before midnight on Magix.) Lateness will not be tolerated.

5. Classes start at 8 o'clock. Again, lateness will not be tolerated.

6. No marriages shall be conducted between an Alfea student and another student at any school while said student is under Alfea tutelage.

7. Usage of the secret passages underneath the school are forbidden, in the unlikely event that any of these passages exist.

8. It is strictly forbidden to open any unmarked doors in the Potions wing of Alfea, especially if one sees a sticky pink goo oozing from beneath the door.

9. It is strictly forbidden to open any unmarked doors in the old classroom wing of Alfea. Especially if one sees blood or hears screaming coming from inside.

10. It is strictly forbidden to open any doors marked "Labyrinth," "Griffin stables," "Dungeon," "Brain," or "Enter Please," no matter their placement within the school or how nicely they may ask you. Be aware that Alfea is classified as a Type-A Sentient Edifice under the Magic Historical Council, and so its less-used rooms may be prone to movement, depending on how the building feels on a particular day.

11. Forbidden magical substances, spells, and potions found in any fairy's possession will be instantly confiscated and, as necessary, reported to the local law enforcement. See Code of Behavior Section ቡ, subsection ሚ for the complete list.

12. No physical weapons of any kind are allowed on the premises. As a school that teaches magic strictly for the purpose of self-improvement and social preparation, Alfea prohibits tools of war.

13. No classrooms may be used by a student unless a teacher is present for supervision.

14. No fighting between students of any kind will be accepted outside of self-defense class, and even then must be strictly supervised.

15. No alcohol, smoke-able substances, or non-magical drugs are allowed on the school premises. Any student found in possession or to be using such substances will meet the same fate outlined in rule 11.

Etcetera...

Consequences:

A single violation of the above rules will be punished with transmogrification into a frog; a double violation will result in the revocation of one's power. A third will result in immediate expulsion, no exceptions.

* * *

The bright star hung high in the sky, shedding warm light onto the small planet. Magix was mainly green, covered in magical forest, but it was also home to the most magical city and three of the best colleges in the entire dimension.

At the time, it was noon. Down in the valley between the Barrier Mountains, a pink castle sparkled, but not as brightly as the assembly of people who gathered in its courtyard. Fairies from every corner of the magical dimension were forming a circle, because it was Alfea College's first day of school. New friends and old acquaintances chatted happily. In the center of the quadrangle, Deputy Headmistress Griselda waved her hands for silence, which she received immediately.

"This school will be your home for the next five years. But this _home _can cease to be yours at any given moment. The rules of this institution are based on _discipline, _and we adhere to a strict Code of Behavior. Now, the first rule in the Code of Behavior is, you must follow all rules in the Code of Behavior..."

The fairies looked on, sufficiently cowed as Griselda continued. They had come from realms far and wide to attend the most prestigious institution for fairies in the Magic Dimension. Most of them were rich, noble, or both. They were the daughters of royalty, presidents, or top barristers and nearly all of them had gone to exclusive finishing schools before enrolling in Alfea.

Some, however, weren't any of the above. Alfea did have a scholarship program for high-achieving commoners. The requirements were stringent; grades, base power, and (despite no one admitting it) attractiveness were numbered among them.

Flora, Linphean Fairy of Nature, was one of these lucky peasants. No one needed to tell her that she was in hopelessly over her head. She now realized she'd stumbled into a crowd of unreachable sophisticates. All of them probably knew each other from the same private school.

"Break the rules once, and you will be turned into a frog..." said Griselda.

Were there side effects to being turned into a frog, mental or physical? Flora supposed that the Headmistress wouldn't allow it as a punishment if students were, say, eating flies for days afterward as a result, but _still_. She'd have to read up on that.

Just then, the Headmistress came out onto the lawn, flanked by three of her teachers. The famed Faragonda was barely taller than Flora,with white hair that sparkled in the noonday sun. If one watched, one would see a twinkle of intelligence in her squinting eyes. She was someone who radiated tranquility, mixed with genuine love of life.

"I hope Griselda didn't scare you too much," she said, and around the circle, the other girls visibly relaxed. It wasn't a spell, Flora noted. Just kindness and a surprising sincerity.

"Welcome, one and all, to Alfea. I'm Ms. Faragonda, your headmistress. I'm an Alfea alumna and a former fairy godmother." She turned and led them past a fountain to a part of the castle that faced the gate. With a snap of her fingers, the two double doors at the entrance sprung open. They entered a large, open foyer with stairs that disappeared off to the left and right.

"This year we have quite a wonderful class. Some of you will fight evil, some will grant wishes, and many of you are princesses who will take over your realms, but our goals are the same for everyone: to help each of you become the very best you can be; to become the beautiful, graceful butterflies that I know you all are."

From the corner of her eye, Flora saw the infamous Princess Stella mouthing along to Faragonda's words. It looked like she had everything figured out.

She cringed. Flora hoped the girl didn't blow up anything this year. Especially if she was in the room with her.

"This is the end of our orientation session, seeing as all of you had taken the tour before you applied. Now, feel free to explore the grounds, meet your roommates and enjoy the campus. But remember: the last bus in is at 27:30, and curfew is at 28 o'clock! Breakfast will be at seven tomorrow morning. Please be punctual! Now go on and have fun!"

There was a slight buzz in Flora's ears as the translation spell worked out all the numbers, making them into figures she could understand. Flora wasn't sure how the process worked, but it had involved an intergalactic alliance between the powers of the time, five thousand years before. Somehow, several hundred planets had banded together to cast a spell that broke the barrier of communication. It was one of the better accomplishments of the magical race.

Maybe she could find a book on it later. It wasn't like she would be doing anything else. In the meantime, she would go to her room and see if she would be making any friends this year. She hurried up the stairs to the dormitories, ahead of the crowd as usual, alone as always.

* * *

The apartment was light and airy. It was arranged in a U-fashion around a central lounge with a door to the hall. Her particular door was on the left side of the lounge, and, according to the sign, she was sharing an apartment with a girl called "Varanda of Callisto" – and, (her heart sank), the Princess Stella would be bunking in the same dormitory.

But she had more immediate issues to deal with: namely, the problem of _Varanda of Callisto. _People didn't get titles that mentioned their planets unless they were important. In a dimension with millions of realms and trillions of beings, it didn't matter where you came from...unless you were somebody special.

She wasn't anti-royalty or anything, it was just that she had been hoping for someone a little more like her. What was she supposed to do with a princess?

_Nothing, it seems, _she thought with a sinking heart upon opening the door. Clearly, she and her roommate had nothing in common.

Her room was a study in contrasts. Rich and poor. Light and dark. Flora's space, on the closer side of the room, was painted a calm lilac and shaded with a lily palm; Varanda's was a bright pink made even brighter by the open window. The princess's area was crammed with books and paper and pictures of things she'd never get to see. All of Flora's possessions (her suitcase of clothes, her books, her talking plant, Mariel) fit in a corner, clothing hardly taking a third of her vast closet space.

Seeing that she was the first to arrive, Flora went ahead and peeked into the other rooms. There was another non-princess across the hall, so there might be promise in that relationship – and besides, Teen Fairy said that your room reflected your personality. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to be compatible with hers. The first room clockwise around the hall was done up in blue and green, with a decor that could only be described as spaceship-meets-punk-rock. She sensed a clash in personalities here. _Would it even work between those two? _

The only other room, a single which belonged to the infamous Princess Stella, was so bright and sunny that it blinded her upon first glance. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that it also happened to be decked out with every amenity: wall-to-wall wardrobe, high ceiling, even floating stairs that led up into what could only be more storage space. Back on Linphea, there could have been an entire family living in a home this size!

_Well, look on the bright side. Maybe she'll spend all her time in there and _not _in the Potions Lab, blowing things up. _

She walked back to her room, closed the door, and stroked Mariel's stem sadly. "Looks like I'll be spending a lot of alone time in the library again. You think my roommate would be my friend if I traded her something?" She looked down at her meager belongings. "Not like I have anything worth trading."

"_You got a room all to yourself?" _said a high, childish voice from behind the door to her apartment. "_Lucky, I got a roommate." _A moment later, a redheaded girl in a short blue top and light blue pants entered the room. Flora stayed in the corner, watching as blue-pants came closer.

Blue-pants moved strangely. Her expression was very hard to read. On the surface, it seemed almost childlike, with her exaggerated gestures and wide eyes. But something about it wasn't right.

Suddenly, she came barging forward. Flora stepped to the side. Surely she'd stop before she reached Mariel - she wouldn't step on the plant, would she?

The silence was shattered by Mariel's piercing scream.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said the girl who must be Varanda. "I didn't see you there." She looked up and saw Flora. "Or you!" She smiled. "Is this yours?"

Flora suppressed a stab of annoyance at that – _Mariel is a 'she,' not a 'this'! – _but soothed it away quickly. _She's not from Linphea, she wouldn't know, _she told herself.

"Mariel is a talking plant. She's my latest creation," Flora said. "Oh, and I'm Flora! So nice to meet you!"

"So nice to meet _you!" _said the redhead. "That's so cool! Stella, come in here! My roommate's plant talks! You have to see!"

The princess in question entered the room with a flourish, swishing her blond hair behind her. There was a smile on her face that masked a barely-suppressed disinterest. _Why is she making that face?_

"It's nice to meet you, Flora," said Stella. She directed her gaze at her friend, the redhead. "I've seen this a couple times at the Solarian harvest festivals." She looked back at Flora, that challenge still in her gaze. "You used a talking enchantment, right? That's cool. You'll have to tell me which spellbook you got that from."

_Hardly, _thought Flora. A 'talking enchantment' barely described the lengthy process of cloning, planting, repotting and fertilizing she'd had to go through to help Mariel grow, not to mention the research and spellcasting that it took to make a sapient talking plant. But Flora lowered her head and nodded. "I'll be sure to tell you."

The redhead (who must be Varanda) looked between them, not appearing to notice anything amiss. "Oh, silly me! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Bloom." Princess Stella nudged her in the ribs.

"I mean," she said, laughing lightly and backing away to glance at the door, "Bloom is a name I like a lot, but it's not my name. My real name is...Varanda, of Callisto."

"Oh my!" said Bloom/Varanda, bumping into someone in the doorway, and then a newcomer entered. She had to be about the strangest person that Flora had ever seen. She was about a hand's width shorter than Flora. Her hair was a violent shade of magenta, and she wore a purple ensemble with capris and a top that showed her midriff, all made of some kind of shimmery synthetic fabric. Her skin was the strangest: the other girls were a bit pale by Linphean standards, but still showed signs of a healthy glow. This one looked like she'd been living underground.

"Walking backward is illogical," said the girl. "You're from Callisto, in the fourth realm of the Magic Dimension's upper ring, correct? That is quite a long way away."

"Yes, that's me!" said Varanda. "What's your name?"

"I am known by Tecna."

"Hi, I'm Stella!" said the blonde princess. Tecna frowned a bit, noticing her.

"I know. You've been mentioned. According to the older students, you are quite notorious." Apparently,Tecna shared Flora's sentiments about their roommate. The difference was that Flora knew how to _hide _her irritation. Tecna's appeared plainly on her face, making Flora cringe.

"Hey, they paid all the damages," Varanda said, rather cheerily, considering the situation. You would think that she was discussing the weather and not a potions accident.

"That was mentioned in the information session as well." Tecna abruptly turned away from them and knelt, opened the blue suitcase that she was carrying. She rummaged in it for a few seconds before snapping it shut and standing up with a few leaflets.

"Griselda distributed these during our orientation. They're copies of the Code of Behavior. I took the liberty of taking extra, in case my roommates were unprepared. Would you all like some?"

"Um, Tecna," Flora said quietly, then stopped. How was she supposed to explain this? _No one _read the Code more than once, except if you were a scholarship kid like Flora, and even then she had almost fallen asleep during the process.

"Thanks a bunch!" said Varanda, and took all of them from Tecna's hands, and distributed them to Flora and Stella before they could do anything. "Thanks," said Flora without meaning to.

"You're welcome," said Varanda, as if she thought Flora was actually grateful. "It's always good to be careful about the rules: coming here is a dream come true and I'd just be so upset if I got expelled." _That doesn't begin to cover it, _Flora was thinking, when a rough voice interrupted her.

"Yeah, I'd be pretty pissed, too."

The statement had come from a newcomer who stood in the doorway, a tall fairy with a streetwise glint in her eyes and headphones around her neck. The girl turned toward Stella, grinning in a not-so-nice way. "But seeing as we've got the expert on the topic right here, we could ask her."

To Flora's surprise, Stella did not immediately jump down the girl's throat. Instead, she smiled, overly-bright. "Oh, I was upset for a while. I got over the embarrassment pretty quickly, though. Some of those old books were so worn, you know, that you couldn't see the print on some pages. I imagine that I skipped over a few tiny details."

"Like which ingredients combusted when added together," said Tecna. Everyone looked at her, surprised. She raised her eyebrows. "What? That is a probable example of what she missed: after all, the potion left _burn _marks on the wall and not water damage."

The new girl snorted. "I like the way you think."

Tecna looked pleased. "Thank you."

"Anyway," said the new fairy, "How'd you spin it? Getting back in, I mean." She took a step forward.

Stella stood her ground, still smiling. "I just told Daddy what happened, and he paid all damages in full. We've got some spiffy new textbooks now, and some brand new laboratories. I think Griselda seems happy I'm back!"

The new fairy smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. "I can see why."

"Yeah, I know. Can you imagine facing Alfea every day without seeing _this _face?" Stella illustrated her sentence by pointing to it. The girl looked irritated.

"No, I think she's probably hoping you'll get expelled again, bring some money into the school. It's worked before, hasn't it?"

The tension built. Flora felt sick to her stomach. _Why, oh why, did I think it was a good idea to come here? _The pigtailed fairy and Stella faced off, looking for all the world like they were about to fight, and then –

"Hey, why don't we go for pizza?" said Princess Varanda in her highest voice yet. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"You know! It's the royal dish of Callisto. It's super-delish. I'm sure they have it in the city somewhere. We should check it out! As roommates, we'll be eating all our meals together anyway, so let's start now, just for practice!"

Everyone stared. Flora wondered if they had run into an irregularity in the translation spell. She hadn't really _said _that, had she? You'd have to have the subtlety of a brick wall to miss the tension in the room, with Stella and the new girl practically growling at each other.

"Well, let's introduce ourselves, then," said Varanda. "I'm Princess Varanda of Callisto," she said without even a twitch, oddly enough.

The new girl and Stella looked at each other and slowly separated, Stella sporting that same irritating grin, the other one scowling darkly. _This much drama and we haven't even had lunch. _

"I'm Musa."

"Charmed. I'm Princess Stella of Solaria."

"We've heard," said Musa and Tecna at the same time. They smiled, surprised.

"And I'm Flora," she said, tapping her chest with her hand as she introduced herself, as was polite in interplanetary diplomacy. They all shared an uneasy smile, and in the following silence, they walked through the winding halls to the bus that would take them out of Alfea.

_It's going to be a long day, _Flora noted.

But it wasn't until three hours later that Flora realized how right she was.

* * *

After they left campus and rode the bus out to Magix, the course of the day took Flora and the rest of the girls through the center of downtown, and eventually out to dinner, where Varanda left them to make a call on a strange device called a _phone. _She didn't return, not even as hours passed, and the girls walked down the street to sit at a fountain in Verox Square just as the second sun sank below the horizon.

"I'm a little worried about Varanda," said Stella off-handedly. "This is kind of a bad neighborhood."

Musa gave her a look. She was the one who had brought them there.

The blonde shrugged. "Just saying, darling. This place can be pretty sketchy, especially when the witches from CT hang out here after school."

"Well, if you're scared, I suggest you lead us somewhere else," Musa said, but at the same time, Stella said, "But the ones you _really_ need to watch out for are the Trix."

"...What?" said Musa, temporarily surprised.

"Yes, who are the Trix?" Tecna put in.

Stella put on what seemed to be her _gossip _face. She leaned in. "They're these three senior witches. Nobody messes with senior witches, that's one thing. But they're also like, freakishly powerful. No one at the school can stand up to them. There's something _different _about them...they're clever. They're cruel." She looked thoughtful. "I heard that they're keeping tabs on every fairy and witch in the school. I wonder..."

A shrill scream pierced the air. It was coming from the alleyway behind the group. Stella raised her head. "That's Bloom's scream! I mean, uh, Varanda's!"

"Wait, what?"

"Never mind! Let's _go!" _

They entered the alley to a scene of destruction. Ice lay scattered in piles all over the pavement, the cement was broken and trash cans were overturned. In the midst of it all stood a giant yellow _Ogrus horriblis, _pinning Varanda down with his foot.

And then there were the witches. They shared similar facial features, a kind of deathly beauty, like that of a black widow or a poisonous plant. They wore dark jumpsuits with harnesses that each held a letter: maybe their first initial.

"It was _you!" _said Stella suddenly. She seemed to recognize the ogre, and vice versa. She might have said something else, but Flora was watching Varanda. She seemed to be sweating and shivering at the same time, and was definitely in some degree of pain. Had Varanda done something to provoke these people?

"What happened?" Musa gestured towards the ruin. "Does _everyone_ here go around destroying-"

"Bloom!" Stella screamed again, not even bothering to correct herself this time. She looked back at the witches.

"And _you! _Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you get some sort of pleasure out of attacking m? First you sic this ogre on me and try to steal my scepter while I'm somehow on _Earth _of all places, which would have _killed _me if I hadn't run into Bloom right here! And now you're kidnapping her in an alleyway? What is your obsession with me? Why-"

"Well, aren't we vain?" one of the witches replied. Her brown hair was longer than Flora's, though similar in coloring. "Long time no see, little fairy."

"What brought you and Varanda to Earth?" Tecna inquired, seeming to forget about what was happening in the face of unknown information. "I thought she hadn't ever left Callisto."

This caught the witches' attention. One of them laughed. "Stupid fairy. Let me spell this out for you: your friend is an _Earth girl._"

Tecna's gasp of surprise was drowned out by a frustrated growl that came from Stella. She pointed at the ogre. "Now listen here, you massive yellow zit! Get your foot off my friend before I kick your ass!"

"Shall we wager on that fight?" another witch questioned, fingering her pale hair. "You lose, we get your scepter."

"Oh yeah? Well my friends and I are..."

_This is bad, _Flora 't Ms. Griselda told them they weren't supposed to use magic without supervision? Or interact with the witches of Cloud Tower?

'_We don't have a punishment for this particular rule, because nothing we can do is as terrible as what the witches will._' Griselda's words echoed in her mind as the three seniors prepared for a magical attack. Stella looked like she actually wanted to take them on! And Bloom looked like she was in so much pain...

Flora wanted to duck. Or run. Or-

"Hold it right there!" A man's voice shouted from behind.

A whistle sounded. "Break it up, girls!"

"Shit," one of their aggressors said.

It was the Magix police. Two of them – plainclothes officers, judging by their lack of uniforms– had come to see what all the commotion was about. "Alfea fairies and Cloud Tower witches. Remind me whose bright idea it was to keep both these schools on the same planet."

The other surveyed the nine of them, making sure they really had given up on their magical fight. "Now listen good, ladies. Break it up, now. First person to attack gets arrested. We don't tolerate fighting in this city."

"Now, it's your first day back, so we'll let you off with a warning. However, your headmistresses will be notified." He pulled out a notebook, "now please give me all your-"

_Crack!_ Faster than the eye could blink, the three witches and the ogre vanished, leaving the policemen behind. Unfortunately, if they didn't have identification, they couldn't press charges.

Stella looked ready to follow their lead, when the man closest to her grabbed the fairy's wrist. "Oh no you don't. First, you're all going to give us your names, and then we're-"

"Please, officer!" the Earth girl screamed. "Those witches lured me into this alley, and then a monster attacked me! My friends here only came to save my life!"

"It's true," Flora felt obligated to add. "She was in a lot of pain when we arrived."

The two men glanced at one another, trying to decide what to do. "Hmm… since we can't prove it either way, and since those witches fled, we won't take you in for questioning. However," the first one said sternly, "we still need your names. Your headmistress will be notified. She can decide what to do with you."

"Also," added the other, "since you clearly can't spend your afternoon in Magix without causing trouble, we'll be escorting you back to Alfea. Don't try anything."

* * *

They rode back to Alfea in a squad car.

The atmosphere inside was totally silent. Musa leaned against the window, looking stormy, and Tecna stared at her hands while Bloom gazed off into space. Even Stella, who had the least to lose, looked like she was going to cry.

And Flora? Flora didcry; quiet, bitter tears that soaked into the collar of the short peasant top she'd bought especially for Alfea. No one looked at her all the way back to school.

By the time they arrived, it was around twenty-nine o'clock, which was one hour past curfew, and Flora was ready to die. It didn't help that the police officers had left the siren on. But approaching Alfea and watching the lights flicker on in the windows, while Headmistress Faragonda and Head of Discipline Griselda waited out on the grass – _that _made the humiliation complete.

The officers drove the car right up onto the lawn and parked it outside the gates that were shaped like wings. They got out and waited while the officers explained.

"Thank you, I'll handle it from here," said Headmistress Faragonda when they were finished, and then she gestured at the girls to follow them, not once looking back to see if they did. Flora had a sudden urge to bolt into the woods and never stop.

Only when they were standing within the gates, flooded with the lights from the lamps, did their headmistress look at them.

"It isn't the fact that you've deliberately disobeyed my orders on the first day of school, or that you broke curfew, or even that you were escorted back in a police car because you were in an altercation with witches," she said in a mild, quiet tone that made Flora want to conjure a hole in the ground and bury herself in it.

"It is the fact that you were representing Alfea which makes me disappointed in you. In all of you," she added. Her eyes made a quick sweep over Flora, taking in the redness of her eyes and the dots of tears on her shirt. They held no expression.

"Moreover, you put yourself in danger. You left what you knew to be the safe part of Magix to the territory which you should _know _is inhabited by witches. Worse, when you met them, you antagonized them – and I don't care whose idea that was, Miss Musa," she said in response to Musa's noise of objection.

"In so doing, you showed a disregard for your own safety and that of the other girls in your group, and that is true _no matter who started it. _I cannot have girls here who are dangers to themselves or to their friends, regardless of their good intentions. I hope you can serve the school better in the future." She pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she was tired of the lecture.  
"Now. Go to bed."

They began to trudge off in the direction of their dormitories, when Musa's voice echoed through the silence.

"Wait. There's something that you need to know, Headmistress Faragonda."

Behind them, Bloom stopped in her tracks. Musa refused to look at her.

"Yes, Miss Musa?"

"It's about Varanda. I don't want to be a snitch, but I don't want to lie, either – so I think she should tell you herself."

The silence following Musa's declaration was ominous. Bloom's voice cut through it quietly, unwillingly.

"Well...I'm not Varanda, and I'm not from Callisto. My real name is Bloom and I'm from planet Earth."

"I knew it!" Griselda burst out. "I knew you weren't a real princess. You've lied to us, young lady!"

"Yes," said Faragonda, "but if you weren't a fairy, the barrier would have kept you out. So, tell us, why did you come here under a false name?"

Stella stepped forward, looking desperate. "Headmistress, it was all my idea –"

Faragonda shushed her with a wave of her hand. "Go on."

"I come from a little town on Earth called Gardenia. I've wanted to be a fairy for all my life. To fly like a fairy, to use magic– being one is my greatest dream." She stared earnestly at the two women, clasping her hands in front of her. "I love this place with all my heart and soul! I just know that if I have the chance to stay here, I can succeed!"

Griselda spluttered. "Surely you don't expect us to listen to _that, _after you lied and tricked your way into the school!" But Faragonda put her hand on Griselda's arm. "_However, _she showed a great tenacity, and a good deal of passion. Both are things we teach our students to strive for, hmmm?" She turned her face away from the girls, so that Flora could not read her lips as she whispered something in Griselda's ear.

"Well, Bloom," she said, turning back to her, "I suppose you can stay and take Varanda's place. You can meet me tomorrow morning before class to discuss your scholarship." She was already smiling again; the twinkle from earlier was back in her eye. "And _do _try not to make any more noise!"

* * *

Later, they stumbled back into their dormitory, exhausted but alive. A feeling of mingled fear and relief hung around them like a fog. Flora felt it too. _We could have died tonight, _she thought. Every beat of her heart reminded her.

Just as they reached their rooms, Bloom told them to come into the one that she and Flora shared. "I've got something special to show you guys," she said, smiling brightly. They watched as she rummaged in her bed, turning over the pillows until she finally pulled a piece of not-parchment (something different and strange) out of her pillowcase.

She turned around. Written on the scrap was a strange word, so strange that it was hard for Flora to understand even after the translation spell worked its magic.

_Winx, _it said. Except –

"That's an old Runic word for magic," Musa said. "But why's the last letter so big?"

Bloom smiled widely. "It's shaped like a butterfly! To represent beauty, fragility, innocence, obedience, goodness, and _forgiveness_." She beamed at Musa, who looked guilty. "It represents everything we are supposed to emulate. Everything we are supposed to _be." _

Out of the corner of her eye, Flora saw Stella flinch. She empathized. She knew, of course, that everything Bloom had told her was _right; _she'd heard it said a hundred times before in junior school; she'd read it a hundred times in books of manners and diplomacy. Fairies were _sweet_. Fairies were _gentle. _Fairies were _nice. _So then why did she feel like she was the one being imposed upon?

"Everything we are supposed to be, huh? " The voice came from behind Flora. She turned: it was Musa who had spoken. She was leaning against the wall, as far from Bloom as she could get.

"But you didn't mention hard work, did you? Or practicality. Loyalty. Cunning. Toughness." Her voice was very quiet, but it sounded scratchy, as if she was fighting to hold back her emotions.

"I didn't come here to make friends, Earth girl, and especially not _your _kind of friend."

This declaration was met with complete silence. To the left of Musa, Tecna was having her own reaction. She appeared to be struggling with something; she opened her mouth, then closed it, as if she was debating whether or not to say something.

"Oh, come on," said Bloom, speaking with an edge of desperation. "We'll grow on each other. Who says we can't be good friends?"

"You...repulse me," said Tecna. It appeared she had finally figured out what she wanted to say.

Everyone stared at her.

"When I came here," she said, I was told not to come back unless I had made friends. I rode thirty hours in a galactic starship to be here. I drank five different potions to acclimatize myself to magic and the different gravity and radiation levels here. I did everything I could to integrate with you. And yet," she said, voice trailing off, "There are some things even I can't stand to do."

A heavy silence filled the room, until it was broken by a soft chuckle.

"I think we're going to get along, roommate," said Musa, and then, seemingly in synchronization, they turned and left. Bloom looked stricken.

"Flora? Stella?"

"I just don't think it'll work out, hon." Flora tried to be gentle. "We'll see."

Stella offered Bloom a smile before she left. "You know I'm your friend. And I'll always be grateful to you. It's just that...it's too much, too fast, for them to handle. Myself included." She turned to leave.

"But I'm still right, right?" she said desperately as Stella left.

Stella turned. "Sweetie, you're what every fairy aspires to be. Never forget that."

_That's the problem, _Flora thought, without knowing why.

Could a person be...too good?

The question haunted her all the way to bed, until she tucked herself in and fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Coming Soon:

"Tecna sighed. She needed to do something to stave off boredom before she set her phone's laser function to atomic deconstruct and caused an interplanetary incident. That would probably be breaking class rules, anyway."

* * *

A/N:

To Die Upon A Kiss

This chapter, and the ones that follow, are basically the equivalent of sneaking up on canon in the middle of the night and hitting it with a shovel. Whatever. Canon can take care of itself. It'll certainly be fun to put our ideas in motion.

PierceTheVeils Speaks: Yes! We've finally gotten the chapter up! So happy school is out, because now we can spend more time on fanfiction.

(laughs) I just love that imagery! So fitting for what we have in mind! (throws up head and laughs evilly at the sky)

Sorry everyone. This is what you get when you deprive Pierce of sleep. But in all seriousness, we have a lot of ideas for how to change canon into something more… plausible. If you would like to contribute any ideas of your own, simply leave them in a review or message one of us. (Back in mad scientist form) Together, we shall create… A new reality! (dun dun dun!)

(Back to T-Duck, while Pierce takes a moment to stop maniacally laughing)

I see what you did there.

Anyway, we aren't the ones in the wrong – canon should have done it our way in the first place.

This fanfiction is also available on AO3: the link is on my profile. Tell us any thoughts you might have about the plot, characterization, or even grammar and spelling! That said, T-Duck out. I need some quality sleep before I wake up on a couch I don't recognize.

(We finally return to Pierce, who is still giggling at something that probably isn't funny)

Oh hey, I just walked into my room and realized I left all my books on my bed. I have a lot of heavy books, so I'm now in a sleeping bag on my floor.

What? Oh right-fanfiction. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I agree with T-Duck: feel free to review on anything you wish for us to know. Your thoughts matter.

(Once again over-dramatic (why? Because it amuses me)) And now… I shall see ALL OF YOU… on the far side. (Points) Way over there.


End file.
